Tariffs and trade wars Trump asks tough questions critics wont answer

Ten tariff questions aren’t being asked — but should be.1) President Donald Trump’s so-called “trade war.”Many call the American effort to obtain either tariff parity or a reduction in the roughly $1 trillion trade deficit and 50 years of consecutive trade deficits a “trade war.”But then what do they call the policies of the past half-century by Europe, Asia, China and others to ensure asymmetrical tariffs, pseudo-health and security trade restrictions, and large surpluses?A trade peace? Trade fairness?2) Do nations prefer surpluses or deficits?Why do most nations prefer trade surpluses and protective tariffs?Are Europe, Asia, China and others stupid? Are they suicidal in continuing their trade surpluses and protective or asymmetrical tariffs?Is the United States uniquely brilliant in maintaining a half-century of cumulative trade deficits?Do Americans alone discover the advantages of a $1 trillion annual trade deficit and small or nonexistent tariffs?Why don’t America’s trading partners prefer deficits like ours — given we supposedly believe they are either advantageous or perhaps irrelevant?3) Would our trade partners prefer to trade places with us?Would our trade partners prefer to have America’s supposed benefits of a $1-trillion trade deficit?Would the United States then “suffer” like they do by running up $200 billion annual surpluses?4) What if wages went up at the rate of the stock market?What would now be the reaction of the stock market if over the last decade wages had increased at the rate of stocks — and stocks at the rate of wages?5) Is Wall Street’s panic based on what might happen — or on what is happening?Is Wall Street’s meltdown a fear of what might happen in the future? Or is it reacting to March’s latest jobs report that there were 93,000 more jobs created than predicted?Was the Wall Street panic predicated on reports of much lower oil prices?Did the furor arise over the March inflation report that the annuali...